DEFENSE COMMUNITIES 360

Milcon Funding Suffers Noticeable Cut in Omnibus Agreement

After accounting for the completion of the BRAC 2005 construction push, funding for military construction, family housing and BRAC in fiscal 2012 will fall $1.4 billion from last year’s level, under the conference agreement for a nine-bill spending package reached last week. Without adjusting for the sharp drop-off in BRAC spending, milcon funding actually declines $3.5 billion.

Equally important, the $13.0 billion the measure allocates for all milcon activities is $1.7 billion below the administration’s request for FY 2012. The cut was slated to be somewhat smaller, but appropriators shifted some milcon funds to boost spending in the defense measure. That bill allocates defense programs $518.1 billion in the current year, an increase of $5 billion from FY 2011, but $20.8 billion less than the budget request.

The milcon bill provides $11.0 billion for the military construction line item (including active and reserve components) this year, a $900 million drop from the FY 2011 level and $1.1 billion less than the request.

Funding for both BRAC accounts matches the president’s FY 2012 budget request. BRAC 2005 activities will receive $259 million, as compared to the $2.3 billion the account was allocated last year. The BRAC 1990 account, providing funds to clean up installations closed during the first four rounds, will receive $324 million, a $36 million decline from last year.

After House and Senate negotiators struck a last-minute deal Thursday night on the conference agreement for the spending omnibus, the House approved it Friday. At press time, the Senate was scheduled to vote on the agreement Saturday, with a short-term continuing resolution keeping the government open in the interim.